FiE 2024: GoodMills Innovation targets fiber and protein concepts for alt-meat and bakery

Germany-based GoodMills Innovation is tapping “plant power” to elevate bakery products,alt-meat and fish quality with its fiber and protein enrichment and texturizing innovations, displayed at the recent Food Ingredients Europe (FIE) trade show in Frankfurt, Germany.

The ingredients provide manufacturers with easy incorporation in recipes and are created from refined and highly functional cereals and pulses.

Food Ingredients First caught up with Katharina Haack, head of marketing communications at GoodMills Innovation, during the event to understand how plant-based ingredients are helping manufacturers achieve the textures and nutritional values that consumers demand.

“The main consumer trend regarding bakery products is to find healthy products. Therefore, fiber and also proteins are very important. According to recent studies, over 42% of the consumers indicate protein is extremely important for them.”

“When it comes to the texturates, consumers are becoming a little bit more critical, because they ask for real meat and fish alternatives, a real good copy. We also see that restaurants and consumers are creating new recipes for so-called stand alone solutions and meat mimicking is less important.”

GoodMills Innovation taps wheat, pea and soy protein in the Vitatex range of texturates for coarse to fine fiber meat and fish alternatives.However, she stresses that while consumer curiosity is important, barriers to meat alternatives on texture, flavor and price still exist, presenting an “ongoing challenge of the whole food industry.” The company is addressing these with its latest texturant offerings.

Replicating meat textures

GoodMill Innovations’ Vitatex range of wheat, pea and soy protein-based texturates for coarse to fine fiber meat and fish alternatives can be used to replicate real meat and fish textures and create a “succulent sensation in the mouth,” notes the company.

These include its two newly introduced pea texturants, Vitatex Pea Flakes M SVP and Vitatex Pea Flakes M SVP Pro, as well as a texturant made from two protein sources — fava bean and wheat. 

The Pro variant can be used bringing to the market properties that “have never before been seen in a pea-based texturate.” It has a unique fibrous structure which enables its use in applications that call for long fibers, such as plant-based canned tuna or chicken-less nuggets. It also has a pleasant elastic bite and absorbs and releases water well, resulting in a succulent end product.

“We have different types of texturates that can also be combined, depending on the final product. For example, for meatballs or minced meat, you need a shorter structure, while vegan burger meat fibers are longer and wheat creates longer fibers for these applications,” explains Haack.

Elevating bakery nutrition

The clean label ingredient manufacturer has also developed its Snow Prebiotic Fibres range, providing manufacturers with a complex mix for enriching light bakery products such as toast, buns or cookies.

The multi-fiber complex is a “unique mix of seven different fibers” that targets consumer gut health, Haacks tells us.

“The advantage for customers is that they can offer products high or rich in fiber, depending on the final verification and can easily put it in existing recipes. That means no major adaptations are needed and perhaps, the most important thing is that they can create light products in various applications.” 

The Snow Prebiotic Fibres range can be used in light bakery products such as toast, buns or cookies.Moreover, the fibers impart a “very pleasant flavor and no off-taste,” she adds.

The company also demonstrated its protein-rich pulse flours at the trade show, which are extracted from fava beans, yellow peas, red lentils using an air separation process. These can be used in pulse pasta and replace soy flour in products like Pinsa pizza (a style of hand-pressed pizza dough), which is traditionally made from wheat, soy and rice flour. 

Meanwhile, its protein fortification product GoWell Tasty is a “neutral, high-quality, vegan, clean-label protein blend for baked goods such as bread, cakes, bars or cookies,” highlights the company. Formulators can incorporate it in existing recipes, enabling the bakery industry to meet growing demand for protein-rich foods. 

The product contains proteins from fava beans and peas, sunflower protein and wheat protein.

Looking ahead

For the coming year, GoodMills Innovation is working on expanding its new texturate range, Haack shares.

“When it comes to fish and poultry products, consumers like light products. So we are working on lighter versions of those.”

Additionally, since the bakery industry has less skilled personnel, the company is also working to create products that are “easy to work with,” she concludes.

With live reporting from Joshua Poole at FiE 2024 in Frankfurt, Germany.